Lucy's first day at the beach!

Such a great day! Randy had the best idea today, a family day at the beach! We quickly packed up (way too much stuff for a day trip!) and headed out the door driving to Ocean Shores. We became a bit nervous driving into the clouds around Aberdeen/Hoquiam, but then were plesantly surprised when the beach was blue skies & mid-70's! We enjoyed lunch, went for a walk on the beach, purchased more than our share of saltwater taffy, then I fed Lucy in the car while Randy napped & we headed back home! It was so much smoother than what I imagined our first big "road trip" would be. Lucy was a champ - slept all the way to & from plus the majority of the time at the beach. (Of course she woke up when I insisted on making her footprints in the cold wet sand... such a good photo op, but probably not very nice...)

Lucia Grace - 1 month old!

Happy 1 month birthday to Lucia Grace! She's getting chubbier by the minute & we're just loving it! Still has the long skinny body, but the cheeks are really filling out! It's hard to believe how quickly the past month has flow by. Not only has she outgrown the majority of her adorable little newborn outfits, but she's also starting to have cute little expressions & occasionally makes the sweetest little ooing & cooing sounds! We feel so blessed, she has really completely changed our lives for the better. On Friday we enjoyed a visit from my Grandma Jean, Lucy's Great Grandma! She was so good with Lucy, snuggling & understanding her cues, knowing how to help calm her. Hope you enjoy these cute pictures!

Visit from Aunt Jill

Why hello! Today was a pretty good day, but it felt really busy! This morning my mom came over & watched Lucia for a couple hours while I went to the gym & the grocery store - it feel so good to workout these days! Makes me think of what a coworker (Ann Peppers) said - that after she had a baby, when she'd go running, she felt so light - like a bouncing kangaroo! Lucy & I had a couple hours at home together before Aunt Jill came from Shelton! It was great to have my Aunt Jill here (my mom's sister), but poor Lucy was a bit fussy during that time. Luckily, Jill was able to hold Lucy at least long enough for a photo! Lucia seemed to be uncomfortable unless she was either breastfeeding or in the baby carrier... picky little miss!

Not much for updates on the medical front - no appointments this week, but we'll be at the CF clinic again next week. She's doing fine with her meds, just takes a bottle once a day now. She's still having issues with reflux, no Zantac yet, but that may be coming.

Well, she's waking up, better run! Much love to all, Christy, Randy & Lucy

A few more Lucy pics

Well, two postings in one day! Just thought we needed a few more pictures of Miss Lucy on here! These are a few from her second week - isn't she just sweet?! The two pictures in the fuzzy blanket are from one of her pediatrician appointments with Dr. Fukui in Olympia... yes, I even bring my camera to the doctor's appointments... It's kind of nice that the blog only allows 4-5 pics per posting, keeps me under control since I take 50+ pictures each day (not kidding). Just thought I'd also let a few of you frustrated people out there know that I changed the security settings & now if you'd like to post a comment, you should be able to do so by clicking on "anonymous" instead of creating a google account. Hope this helps! Much love to you all!

Lucia meets Aunt Rashmi!

What a fun Saturday! This has been a great weekend - started out with an early morning feeding & then I left Lucy with Randy for his first bit of Dad/daughter alone time! I thoroughly enjoyed a yoga class while they had fun bonding. Randy did a great job with her, prepared a bottle (didn't mind handling breastmilk!), burped her, snuggled - such an awesome Dad!

A couple hours later, we had visitors - Rashmi & Wade flew back for the weekend from DC & were able to meet Lucy! Rashmi has been my best friend since birth - we share a special bond, she's kind of like the sister I never had - we were born on the same day, 7 minutes apart! Rashmi's youngest sister, Meera, came up as well - she was great with Lucy, even when Lucy spit up! =) The top picture is Rashmi's husband, Wade Sutton, then below is Meera Puri, then Rashmi.

It meant so much to me that Rashmi & Wade flew out to meet Lucia! Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart! I just know that you'll be so special to Miss Lucy as she grows up - I pray for a bit of your guys' incredible intellect to rub off on her! =)

A great appointment at the CF Clinic

Well, the appointment on Tuesday at the CF Clinic went very well. We came home with gobs of information in our minds & on paper... always a bit overwhelming. But, the important part is that Lucy's checkup went wonderfully. Dr. Larson saw her this time (Ricker & Larson are both pulmonologists, Larson started the clinic years ago & then Ricker joined him) and we enjoyed getting to know him & his sense of humor. I appreciated the consistency in comments from both Dr. Ricker & Dr. Larson, it's obvious they're on the same page & feel the same way about Lucy's situation. So, the highlights from the 3 1/2 hr appointment ... Lucy's weight was up again! She weighed 8lbs 7oz - they were very pleased. Apparently, the measurement that they would like to see above the 50th percentile is the weight to length ratio - at this point she's 49th for weight, 74th for length, but only 16th for weight to length... I'm still not sure I understand it - not a measurement I'm used to following. We'll be looking to see that the ratio continues to improve, she went from 6th to 16th in 2 weeks, so that's great. One bit of comic relief during the appointment came when Randy asked Dr. Larson about Lucy & her ability later on to exercise & participate in sports... Randy asked if team sports would be okay (answer - definitely) and when we should begin an exercise routine... Dr. Larson's quick reply was great, "Well Randy, I believe we'll start her on the swim team within the next 2 weeks." He had us all laughing but then also said one thing that will be incredibly important is for Randy & I to set the example by maintaining a fitness routine of our own & then involving her in it. One thing we were shown (in probably a bit too much detail) was how to perform CPT (chest percussion therapy) by either "clapping" her back & chest or using a little vibrator to loosen the thick mucous in her chest. She doesn't have any noticeable buildup of mucous, but they feel strongly in preventing it from ever building up by being regular with 5-10 minutes of CPT twice daily. Last but not least... the enzymes that Lucy's on... Randy looked them up & discovered they cost over $1 per pill... she gets one with each breastfeeding & may have 8-10 feedings per day... we started to wonder/worry what our insurance coverage would be on these... So the incredibly miraculous blessing came when they said they had enrolled Lucy in a program where all of her meds will be covered by drug company & the CF Foundation for at least the first 3 years of her life! And, as if just to prove how awesome & on top of things they are, I opened the door this afternoon to find a package stuffed full of her expensive meds sitting on our doorstep! God is good - and so are the people who make the CF Foundation & local clinic function!



Sorry I don't have pictures with this posting, but I'll will get some up tomorrow. Thank you again to everyone for your incredible support. I especially appreciated a call from Matt K. at the Oly-Lacey Church of God today - your prayer over the phone with me really meant a lot.

Lucia Grace - Day 17

Well, this sure was one eventful & fun day! We started out the morning with Randy's relatives coming over - Mike, Judy, Eric & Charlene Peterson. Uncle Mike is in the top photo with Lucy. After that visit, my mom arrived by bike (always focused on fitness!) & we went for a quick walk. My dad & Randy went to the boat launch & put in my parent's boat for a quick afternoon tour around the lake - they picked up Mom, Lucy & myself for Lucy's first boat ride! She did great - we were out for an hour or two & she slept in the Moby wrap the whole time. Upon arriving back home, we had a bit of down time to feed little miss & then had a fun visit from Randy's Uncle Norman & Aunt Margaret (Uncle Norm is the bottom pic with Lucia Grace). Each visitor we had today was so kind & generous - we so greatly appreciate each of you! And it was easy to see how Lucia Grace loves you all!

Well, we had a very wonderful weekend, here are photos from Saturday - we had Randy's Grandma Alice & Aunt Cindy from Richland, WA as well as his mom & Aunt Renae over to see Lucy. Everything went very well & Lucy was a pretty content baby all through the weekend's visitors. In a seperate posting I'll show pictures of our fun Sunday with family as well.

As for how Lucy's doing, she's got a bit of reflux, nothing too major, but I'm guessing they'll decide at her appointment tomorrow to initiate the Zantac... we'll see. She seems to have a bit of improved absorption now after a few days of receiving more pancreatic enzymes - I can tell by the consistency of her stool, it's not as watery as it had been. She does have GI pains from time to time - this morning you could tell she was uncomfortable for a while before passing liquidy stool. I hope this subsides as time goes on, it's no fun watching her struggle/in pain.

Much love to you all -
Christy, Randy & Lucy

Lucy's first trip to the state capitol

Don't worry Aunt Margie, Lucy was out of the sun the entire time, just appeared briefly for the photo op! =)

Day 15!

Hello Everyone! Today was a great day! We had our appointment with the pediatrician (not the CF clinic) and found out that Lucy gained over a pound since her last visit! Today she was 8lbs. 3 ounces & now 21 1/4 inches long! They say that CF babies need to be in the 50% or higher for both length & weight as it's been proven beneficial for lung function - so I'm happy to report that she was in the 50th percentile for weight & the 75th percentile for length! We're not quite sure where her length comes from... definitely not from her mom!

Other than that, things are going pretty well around the Webster's home! I've been enjoying getting out to walk a bit lately, it feels great! I feel like I've accomplished so much if I just simply get out the door & on a path! Yesterday I met my dad, Grandpa Neil Amondson - at the State Capitol Bldg in Olympia & we went walking around that area - it was just gorgeous. I enjoyed the switchback trail that goes down to the lake - a good little hill for getting back into fitness. Randy's of course keeping busy with projects... just finished his part of the rebuilding of the pontoon boat, now it goes to the engine guy to have it all connected. He also just finished assembeling 4 wooden chairs for the dock & staining them - it will be so nice to have a place to sit on the nice new dock! Sotto Voce has been keeping him really busy too... He was able to take the first week off, but this past week he was back in the office & today to Seattle.

Hope everyone has a very enjoyable weekend in the sun! - Christy, Randy & Lucia Grace

Happy 2 week B-day Lucia Grace!

Hello Everyone!

I'm sitting here at the computer with Lucy all swaddled up to me in the Moby wrap - she's just loving it! We've had a great couple of days - she's now taking her meds with ease - even the salt! I spoke with the CF dietician this morning & she said to increase the pancreatic enzymes to a full capsule with each feeding - we had been giving half a capsule each feed. They feel this will help her absorption & therefore normalize her stools. The dietician also mentioned the possibility of adding Zantac for reflux - even though she does not have any major signs of reflux, they find the enzymes often work better with the addition of Zantac. We didn't add it yet, we'll see at Tuesday's appointment.

Well, we've had some nice visits with family lately - Randy's parents came over two nights ago with dinner & we enjoyed a few hours visiting together. Congratulations to Dennis & Susan who just celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary!! How awesome!!

Okay, duty calls! Will post more later! Hope everyone's enjoying the beautiful weather!

Day 11 for Lucia Grace

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for many sweet words that we received in the last 24 hours! Your kind thoughts & prayers mean a lot to Randy & myself. Miss Lucy had a good day today. Katy Erickson & her daughter Ila came to visit with Rachel Blake & her son Brandon (two of my closest NICU buddies) - we enjoyed a couple hours visiting & having lunch in between baby feedings & Ila's first time walking! I was honored to have her first steps be while at our house!

Back to Miss Lucy, I spoke with the dietician today at the CF Clinic & she was kind of surprised to hear how Lucy dislikes the salt so much - apparently mose CF babies usually tolerate it okay. We're going to try giving a bit less salt & seeing if she can kind of work her way up. She's still tolerating the vitamins & enzymes well. The biggest concern I have right now is that she's had pretty watery stools & I'm not sure how much of the breastmilk she's actually absorbing... Her cheeks are getting chubbier, so that's got to mean something! I'll be talking tomorrow with the clinic staff to see what their thoughts are. We have our next big appointment on Tuesday 9/16 in the CF Clinic - that day we'll meet with Dr. Ricker, Dr. Larson, a nurse, a Respiratory Therapist, a dietician & a social worker. Apparently it's a 2 hour appointment & I'm sure it will be full of all kinds of information.

Well, tonight was a really great evening. When my mom finished at work, she came up to our house, snuggled for a while with Lucy (managed to get spit up on twice!) and then made us a delicious dinner! It was fun for each of us! Thank you so much Mom for your positive outlook & incredible support! There really is nobody quite like you! =)

Hope you enjoy the pictures I'm posting now, they're not all from today, but recent nonetheless.